Veterans....Thank You!

[KFC911]

Wish all of you who have sacrificed and served the very best!

[Baz]

+1

Salute to all warriors and THANK YOU!

[astrochex]

Thank-you to all who have served and sacrificed and to their families.

[Oh Haha]

Thank you to Pelicans and all that served and sacrificed for this country.

[GH85Carrera]

I will add another thank you to the veterans.

[dad911]

5 Stars for this thread!

[abisel]

You can never say it enough, so I say it once again. Thank you for your service.

[Noah930]

Thank you.

(It was also great to be able to get to work today with absolutely no traffic!)

[crustychief]

+1,000,000, still had to work though. Supporting current military vets in Singapore.

[Seahawk]

Veterans Day.

I was with a very good friend of mine for three hours today. He was an Navy H-2 pilot and a pretty unconventional guy but not in the sense that most would understand: Naval Academy Grad but a complete rebel, finance wizard from Pottsville. My kind of people.

He has had Crones for over 30 yeas and is in the last episodes. He texted me Tuesday and told me how he was doing: Lots of pain, doubt, the gamut of emotions.

I, of course, asked what he needed, what I could do.

He texted back: Just come spend some time with me, take my mind off the pain. I was in NYC yesterday and got home last night. Friday work?

It did. No parades, no accolades, just three hours remembering, talking, mostly me listening to my friend on Veterans Day. I got home 20 minutes ago.

As we, like all Navy pilots are wont to do, lied to each other about all the cool things we did, he told me a story worth repeating, something I’d like to share.

He was on the Aubrey Fitch, FFG-34, as the OinC of the H-2 helo Det. The CO of the boat was a bit of a hard ass, but fair and good. He had been a Brown Water Sailor in Vietnam as an LT and had some different perspectives: He told my friend that no one gets an Aubrey Fitch plaque without becoming an Officer of the Deck Underway (OOD). His deal.

He, my friend and the helo bubba, politely declines. Plaques and qual’ing as an OOD really weren’t important for the Det as a whole, enlisted or officer. Extra effort at sea is rarely rewarded. They, the H-2 Detachment and the ship finish the deployment and part ways, sans OOD qual’s and plaques.

A year later my friend is in Portsmouth Naval Hospital suffering from the first serious onset of Crones and about to be discharged from the Navy…medically discharged and not to fly again.

There, as my friend lays in the painful thralls of Crones, arrives the CO of the Fitch. Plaque in hand.

That is Veterans Day to me. That is why I did what I did, for the moments when it all made sense.

Best.

[Rikao4]

sorry.some dust in my eye..
a Brother & Sisterhood easily understood by it's members..
confusing to outsiders..
also proud to have worn the OD T-shirt..
Hawks story & road trip would have an outsider wonder why..
I don't..
having served with Men & Women of that hard a$$ Co / Seahawks caliber..

Rika

[pwd72s]

Thank to all who have served. Inadequate words, I know...

[Hard-Deck]

Paul, great story. Silent Service

[matt930s]

Great thread; I just feel like the majority of Americans no longer understand the sacrifice...

Btw, post your Vet owned P-cars cars here:

Show me your Veteran owned or service member imported Porsche!

MattR

[metalracer]

THANK YOU all Veterans and their families !!!

[KFC911]

Thanks for sharing that Paul! As a civillian, I know I can't really relate to what you guys that serve "share"... but I do appreciate the glimpse into your world

[Don Ro]

On February 14, 2002, he was asked how he felt representing a country commonly perceived as “the Satan of contemporary politics.”
Here is the relevant part of his reply:

"Far from being the Great Satan, I would say that we are the Great Protector.

We have sent men and women from the armed forces of the United States to other parts of the world throughout the past century to put down oppression. We defeated Fascism. We defeated Communism. We saved Europe in World War I and World War II. We were willing to do it, glad to do it. We went to Korea. We went to Vietnam. All in the interest of preserving the rights of people.

And when all those conflicts were over, what did we do? Did we stay and conquer? Did we say, “Okay, we defeated Germany. Now Germany belongs to us? We defeated Japan, so Japan belongs to us”? No. What did we do? We built them up. We gave them democratic systems which they have embraced totally to their soul.

And did we ask for any land? No, the only land we ever asked for was enough land to bury our dead. And that is the kind of nation we are."

- - Gen. Colin Powell

[flyenby]

I served in Vietnam infantry 69-70. I thank those who didn't come back. I think of all the years they missed.....I got there at 19, and it still bothers me...what the young lost ..

[Don Ro]

Vietnam - '65 > '66.
I hear ya!

[BeyGon]

I went to VN Language school with a LCPL named John, his bridge was over run I think in June 67, he was wounded and captured. They found him down river the next day, not a pretty sight. He was a good friend and He would have been one of the people I kept in touch with later. I never cared for the people we fought, I respected the NVA but didn't care for any of them. I would like to be having another beer with John. I tried to get in touch with his family when I got home but they never answered. I don't really blame them. I did send some pictures of him to a former Marine to put on a website, at least he got a little recognition.